


Seating Arrangements

by draculard



Category: Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: Card Games, Crack, F/M, Ficlet, Fluff and Humor, Sabacc, This fic is a personal attack on PierceTheVeils sorrynotsorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:54:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26377621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/draculard/pseuds/draculard
Summary: The gang plays sabacc.
Relationships: Karyn Faro/Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	Seating Arrangements

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PierceTheVeils](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PierceTheVeils/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Cards Against Sentiency](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23975839) by [PierceTheVeils](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PierceTheVeils/pseuds/PierceTheVeils). 



Hammerly's ass had barely touched the seat when Grand Admiral Thrawn, not even glancing her way, shot his hand out toward her and said,

"No, Commander. Don't sit down just yet."

She froze a millimeter above the seat, quads straining, and stood back up. Across the table, Pyrondi caught her eye and made a face.

"This seating arrangement is all wrong," Thrawn announced, arms crossed over his chest. He scanned the table with a critical eye while the officers backed away, giving him room to adjust the place cards as necessary. With intense concentration, Thrawn swapped Vanto's plate of junk food for Faro's plate of Outer Rim tacos, moving their sabacc cards over to match.

Exasperated, Vanto said, "Sir, I don't want to sit by Skerris."

"Then switch with Woldar," said Thrawn dismissively, not even glancing up. He rested his chin on his hand, studied the table, and shook his head. He took Faro's plate out of her hands again and switched it for Hammerly's.

" _Sir_ ," Hammerly protested.

"You can sit next to Vanto," Thrawn assured her, moving her plate out of reach.

"I don't _want_ to sit next to Vanto," Hammerly said under her breath. She shifted chairs reluctantly; Pyrondi followed her, quietly sliding her cards to the empty seat nearby. She did so behind Thrawn's back, while his eyes were darting between Woldar, Skerris, Vanto, and Faro. He made a big show of considering each of them, even though they all knew exactly what he was going to say next.

"Commodore—" Thrawn started, gesturing to the chair near him.

As a group, the rest of the officers groaned.

"What?" said Thrawn, looking genuinely confused.

"Is this all an excuse to sit next to Faro, sir?" asked Vanto, sounding aggrieved.

"I am shocked and dismayed by this accusation," said Thrawn at once. "I am only attempting to configure the most ideal seating arrangement for our game of sabacc, taking individual preferences and personalities—"

"One preference in particular," Skerris muttered.

"—and temperaments into account," Thrawn finished, raising his voice a little and shooting a glare Skerris's way. " _You_ ," he said a bit more quietly, "are only here because we need a seventh player for the Bespin Variant. We can just as easily play Tardaac if you want to continue mouthing off."

Skerris waited until Thrawn had turned away before rolling his eyes. Facing Faro, Thrawn indicated the empty seat next to him and said in an almost subdued tone,

"Of course, if you would rather sit elsewhere..."

"Aww," Hammerly said as loudly as she dared. Thrawn's shoulders twitched, but he didn't look in her direction.

"This is fine, sir," said Faro diplomatically, taking the seat to Thrawn's left. She peeked at her hand of cards. "This makes us partners for the Bespin Variant, correct?"

"Correct," said Thrawn. He glanced around the table as if waiting for other protests, but the rest of the officers had sullenly submitted to their fates and were now focused solely on their food and cards. "Now," said Thrawn, "if everyone is settled...?"

He took a seat, seeming particularly careful not to accidentally brush Faro's arm as he sat. The two of them examined their cards, stone-faced and professional, while everyone else got busy stuffing their faces. Personally, Hammerly was more concerned about the goodies on the buffet than she was about strategy. She had just selected a fried bonyon when Pyrondi nudged her with her elbow and pointedly dropped her fork on the ground.

Hammerly eyed the fork, then Pyrondi, who studiously avoided her eyes. Casually, Hammerly pushed her plate away and leaned down to fetch the fallen utensil. She cut her eyes sideways just in time to see Faro and Thrawn playing footsie beneath the table.

 _Disgusting,_ she thought, sitting back up. They couldn't even be _subtle_ about it. She was never playing cards with these assholes again.

And she _definitely_ wasn't letting Thrawn choose the seating arrangement.


End file.
